Kincaid began the tournament with a pin in 1:35 of Dino Simonelli of Avella, then beat No. 3 seed Jason Perkins of Jefferson-Morgan 5-2 in the quarterfinals and Dalton Wildman of West Greene, 7-1, to reach the finals.

“I came out because wrestling puts me in shape for track,” said Kincaid. “It’s turned into something else, now.”

A wrestling rarity: Kincaid’s title is remarkable, considering he had wrestled for just two weeks during eighth grade before quitting to play ice hockey. Kincaid is athletic. He played four years of football and is preparing for his fourth season of varsity track. He also played amateur hockey.

Kincaid was talked into coming out for wrestling this season by Chartiers-Houston head coach Bill Sutton and took a 10-5 record into the tournament.

“Football players are there for two reasons: to fill a weight class and to not get pinned,” Sutton said. “You want to talk about a pleasant surprise. He is one”

For a first-year varsity wrestler to win any tournament is quite an accomplishment. For a wrestler with almost no background in the sport to do it is rare.

“The coaches taught me some moves,” Kincaid said. “They focused on me because it was my first year. I put that to the test, and it took me to first place.”

In football, Kincaid averaged 6.4 yards per carry and rushed for 566 yards on 88 carries and scored eight touchdowns.

“He’s just a natural athlete,” said Sutton. “He can do things other kids can’t. His mind is like a sponge. Some kids will say, ‘That doesn’t work for me.’ David doesn’t know that.”

Some regret: It’s natural to wonder what type of wrestler Kincaid might have been had he came out for the sport at a younger age.

“I regret not staying with it (in eighth grade),” he said. “I really wish I did. People come up and ask me how I did this or how I did that. I surprise myself, too. I think I can get better.”

Sutton also is surprised at how easily wrestling moves come to Kincaid.

“He’ll do things we haven’t even taught him,” Sutton said. “And they are the right things to do in that situation. He just has a lot of natural ability.”